Be Careful What You Wish For
by ActressQueen11
Summary: When Lightman and Torres are needed to solve a messy murder, Foster and Loker are left to solve a dangerous government scandal. But what will happen when the case proves too much for Foster to handle?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! This is my first Lie to Me fanfiction. I've had an idea in my mind for a while that I've been wanting to write down, but the story was still a little foggy. I think I've got it clear now, and am ready to share it with you! I think the hardest thing is writing the characters, and I really want to write them appropriate and in-character, so please let me know what you think. I hope you enjoy!**

**Oh, yeah. And I don't own Lie to Me.**

The day began like any ordinary day at the Lightman Group. Cal Lightman was the first to walk through the doors of the office building, arriving a little over an hour earlier than needed, swiftly beginning the long day's labor and necessary paperwork. Soon after, Gillian Foster entered, perfectly put together and ready for another day at the Lightman group. Around seven o'clock, Ria Torres came into the building, not too happy about the early morning work hours, but reluctantly accepting, hoping to impress her new boss. The last member of the Lightman group, Eli Loker, arrived seven minutes late, carrying three cups of coffee and looking like hell. He was not having a good day.

Loker opened the half-shut door to Lightman's office where he saw Gillian and Cal discussing a current case.

"Coffee's here," said Loker, not the least bit happy about being the non-paid, go-for, intern. "Who got the caramel latte?"

Gillian stood up from leaning against Lightman's desk without tearing her eyes away from the screen where she and Cal were studying a forty-year old man's distressed facial expressions. She walked over to Loker and absent-mindedly took the coffee from his outstretched hand.

"You see that?" Cal asked his partner as he paused the image displayed on the giant screen and took his coffee from Loker without the slightest acknowledgment.

"Grief," Gillian murmured to herself as the three of them stared at the screen.

"Is this the Robbinson case?" asked Loker, eager to analyze the new data.

"Yeah," Lightman responded, slightly impatiently. "This is Sarah's uncle—Jimmy Robbinson's brother."

"Well he's genuinely upset about his niece's death," replied Loker.

"Yeah, the FBI was once again incorrect. No surprise there," Cal grumbled. "He didn't kill her."

Just then, Ria Torres walked into the office. "Oh, Loker. I've been looking for you. I need your help reviewing the Robbinson interview."

"Nah, Torres, it's not the uncle" Cal informed her. "Do we have any footage of his wife?"

"I don't think—," Loker began, but was cut off by Cal who was already reaching for his coat. "Come on, Torres. Get your things, we're gonna go pay Mrs. Robbinson a visit," Cal began as he started toward the door. Torres looked slightly surprised that she was still working on the case. Usually with the FBI cases, both Foster and Lightman worked the job, while she and Loker reviewed the interviews in the lab. However, this time Cal had decided to keep Torres on the case, allowing her to shadow him.

Cal quickly spun around to face Gillian. "Uh, Foster, you'll just—"

"I'll work on some paper work, Cal. Go ahead." She smiled faintly as Cal nodded roughly. However, just as Cal was about to leave, Reynolds entered holding a file.

"What's everybody doing in here? I've been looking for you" Ben looked around at the crowded office.

"What is it, Ben?" Gillian asked patiently.

"We just got another case." Loker straightened up from leaning against the couch as Reynolds turned toward Lightman. "I need your help."

"Foster's got it" Cal informed spontaneously; he took one glance around the room and paced out the door with a surprised, yet eager, Torres on his tail. Gillian smiled softly, blushing ever so slightly at Cal's undeniable confidence in her.

"So," Loker began happily, looking around the room. "What's the story?"

Reynolds ignored Loker, walking directly to Foster's side. He still resented Lightman's attitude toward him, but decided to move on with the case.

"This man," Reynolds began as he opened the manila folder in his hands and proceeded to point to the photos within, "Luke Bagley, is one of the top drug dealers in the country. No one's ever been able to catch him." Reynolds flips the page. "Now this man, Jonathon Cade, has worked for the IRS for the past seven years, before he just recently disappeared."

"Oh, no. Another IRS mystery", Loker mocked as he walked over to Foster and Reynolds to get a better view of the information.

Once again ignoring Loker, Reynolds continued. "Cade's wife, Michelle, seven-months pregnant, also left her home, but was just recently found by the FBI hiding at her mother's house in North Carolina." Foster nodded slowly, taking in all the information.

"And what does this have to do with Bagley?" Gillian questioned.

"Well, there's reason to believe that Cade was a continuous buyer from Bagley. We don't have concrete proof, but we we're hoping that through some interviews, we'll be able to justly assume that Cade was a user, and affiliated with Bagley."

"But why did he run?"

"Well, just before the disappearance, approximately two million dollars was stolen from the IRS. They are assuming that it was Cade paying off some long running debts—"

"To Bagley," Gillian finished, now beginning to fully understand the case at hand.

"Right," Reynolds sighed, looking down at the case that was in need of a lot more attention. "Cade could be on the run, or in a lot of trouble from the looks of Bagley's background. He is pretty ruthless and won't stop until he gets what he wants."

Loker looked up. "So, where do we come in?"

"Well, the FBI needs Lightman to interview Cade's co-workers, see if they are aware of any suspicious behavior, and see if—"

"Anyone knows anything." Gillian said, still concentrating on the material set forth.

"Right." Reynolds phone began to ring as he handed the folder over to Foster. He looked down to see who was calling and looked back up to Gillian and Loker. "I gotta take this."

Foster waved Reynolds to go answer his call. "Go, Ben. We've got it from here. Thank you." Reynolds quickly scooted out of the office.

"Well," Gillian began as she heavily exhaled, sighing out all the information that just hit them.

Loker was also anxious, but glad to have something to work on. "Looks like we've got a case."

**Alright, I know it was a little confusing and dry, but it will get more interesting! Let me know if anything was unclear :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you everyone who has reviewed and/or read! Here's Chapter 2.. I hope you enjoy! I threw in a twist :]**

"Were you close to Jonathon Cade?" Gillian's calming voice questioned. They were finally finishing up with the last of the five of Cade's closest co-workers, men and women who spent most of their time at the IRS with the missing man. After Loker set up the camera, making sure to capture each interview, he took the appropriate place by Foster's side, respectively adding any additional questions that could better their lead on the case.

"Well, as close as any other, I suppose." Rachel curtly looked from Gillian to Loker, and back to Gillian. "Not many people knew Jonathon. He kept to himself a lot."

Foster looked at Loker, as if to say 'Is there anything you want to ask?', and Loker decided to speak up.

"Well, did you ever see him outside of work? Maybe at a holiday party?" Rachel continued to shake her head, but Foster was able to see the slight twitch in her finger.

"Have you ever met Jonathon's wife Michelle?" Gillian queried. And then she saw it. Loker, too, picked it up. The most miniscule flash of contempt.

"No. _He _was very intent on keeping his personal life personal. We barely ever heard of his wife." _Distancing language_, thought Gillian. Looking over at Loker, the both of them knew that they had gotten what they had needed.

"Thank you, Miss Simmet," Gillian said politely as Loker stood to shut off the camera. "I'm sure we will be in touch."

"Oh, you're more than welcome," she smiled. "I just can't believe this whole ordeal. I mean, why would anyone steal from the IRS? Especially Cade, he was doomed to get caught."

"Well, you never know about some people, Miss Simmet," Loker stated as he held open the door for Foster and the two walked out briskly. "Thank you for your time."

As they were heading out of the building, they had a quick encounter with Mr. Grates, the man in charge of assisting them through the case, and subsequently Cade's former boss. They told him that they would keep in touch, and probably be calling within days, as soon as they got a chance to review the day's interviews.

Once Foster and Loker safely made it outside and away from any workers, Gillian immediately began discussing the interviews.

"Well, there was definitely something Rachel was not telling us", Gillian began, "Do you think she was sleeping with him?"

"It's possible. She was definitely closer than to him than she said she was. Did you see the contempt in her eyes when you mentioned his wife?"

"And, when you suggested that they had met outside of work, her finger flinched," Gillian continued. "When I brought up Michelle, she specifically responded with '_his _wife'. She was purposely distancing herself from the woman."

Loker looked at Foster and saw her growing excitement with this new case. Although Gillian loved working with Cal and having him there to catch the details that blew past her, it didn't take a genius to see that Gillian was enjoying the independence of exploring this case without him. It gave her a chance to prove herself and refine her techniques that were constantly being over-shadowed by Cal's undeniable talents and extreme plans.

As they were approaching the car, Gillian felt Loker staring at her and lifted her head to meet his gaze. "What?"

"Nothing. It's just great to see you so excited about a case."

"Yeah. Well, usually I don't get the chance to work on these interesting mysteries. I'm just glad that Cal is finally trusting me enough to handle this on my own," Gillian smiled.

"Well," Loker said, breaking the stare. "Let's get these back to the lab and start analyzing." And with that, the two hoped into the car and drove back to the Lightman Group.

* * *

_**Lightman Group, later that day, nearing 3:00pm**_

Reynolds had returned to the building after spending the rest of the morning at the Police station. He hurriedly paced around, in search of Lightman, but could only find Foster and Loker in the lab working. _Damn, _thought Reynolds. He really needed to speak with Lightman.

Finally, after ten more minutes of searching, and three encounters with Heidi, the secretary, he spotted Lightman, who was just returning from his venture with Torres.

"Lightman!" Reynolds called as he saw the hunched over stature of his boss, followed by Ria Torres.

The two of them whipped around to see Reynolds rapidly walking towards them.

"What is it, Reynolds?" asked Lightman as he began his usual ritual, quickly reading Reynolds' face to get a solid idea of what was going on.

"Can I see you for a minute?" He glanced over at Torres who was intently watching them, interested in what was going on. "Privately?" He added.

Without answering Lightman walked right past Torres and into his office. Reynolds looked around, assuming this meant to follow; realizing an urgent matter was at hand, he paced after Lightman.

Once the two of them were inside the office, Lightman closed the door behind him and put his things on the desk. "What is it?" Lightman was now giving Reynolds the proper attention he deserved as he began to realize the matter was important.

"Well, you know that case that you gave Foster today?"

"Yeah, why? What happened?" Lightman responded, slightly nervous, slightly irritated.

"Well, the FBI just informed me of another suspect. They're not sure if he had anything to do with the money, but he is definitely affiliated with the case." Cal looked at him, waiting to understand the problem with this information. "His name's Foster. _Alec Foster._"

Cal felt his heart drop to his stomach. Just when he thought that this man would disappear and leave his dear partner alone, he popped back up to stir in some more trouble. God, he hated him. He was so undeserving of Gillian.

Cal quickly took the file out of Reynolds hand where an enlarged image of his partner's ex-husband was printed. "What's the case?"

"Some money was stolen from the IRS, we connected it to a man, Jonathon Cade, who supposedly was affiliated with Luke Bagley—"

"The drug guy?" asked Cal, his anger increasing as he watched Reynolds nod his head. If he had known that the case was connected to Bagley, he would never have suggested Gill take it. He may be a bit over-protective, but he hated the look in her eyes every time she thought about the downfall of her marriage and her husband's reckless drug addiction. "Why didn't you tell me it was a druggie case!?"

"Hey! Don't yell at me, alright? I'm just trying to help you out. When I saw Foster's name, I figured it would be best for you to take on the case."

Ignoring Reynolds' last remarks, he quickly asked the obvious question. "How's Alec involved?"

"Well, they think that he's connected to Bagley. Probably an ally, or a partner in crime so to speak."

Cal sneered at the thought. He hated seeing Gillian hurt, and dreaded telling her the news. _Why had she chosen such an ass to fall in love with? _He hated the fact that Alec held the power to hurt her.

"Alright, thanks Reynolds," Cal had voiced, very abruptly. He was finished with this conversation and needed some time to think about his plan to inform Gillian.

Just as Reynolds reluctantly began to head out the door, Cal grabbed the manila folder containing Foster's profile, which was now lying on his desk, and handed it back to Reynolds.

"You keep it," Reynolds began. "You'll need it for the case." Lightman shook his head rather urgently, standing up now. Reynolds eyed him strictly now. "You _are_ still taking the case?"

Lightman continued to shake his head. He wanted to solve it, and especially wanted to get Foster behind bars, but he knew that by working on the case, Gillian would ultimately end up involved. And he was going to do everything he could to prevent that.

**Alright, let me know what you think.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks again to the reviewers and those of you who have read** **the story so far. I hope I continue to hold your interest. Enjoy :)

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CHAPTER 3

Cal Lightman usually never drank before 6:00pm. However, on this particular day, Cal had found himself reaching for the special bottle of scotch hidden in the bottom self of the bookcase in his office at three after four. His heart had been racing as it scolded the mind for the events that led up to now.

Cal watched his hand slowly twist the cap to the glass bottle and grab a large cup which was quickly filled to the rim. After taking a big gulp, he stood to close the blinds to the window behind him. Cal couldn't deal with any more people today. He needed quiet. Even though the last thing he desired was to be alone with his thoughts.

He walked to the front of his office and shut the door. He looked around the room, but then realized that he didn't want to see. He wanted nothing more than to curl up and waste the rest of the night drinking. Cal reached to turn off the lights and sighed out when he found himself in the slight darkness that would deepen with the night.

Cal knew that no one would disturb him with all the lights out. They would be sure to pass his room, asking Heidi if he left early. And as far as they were concerned, he _had_ left early. The only person that would insist on entering to check on him would be Gillian. Cal inwardly kicked himself as the knot in his stomach ceased to leave. Well, after today he wasn't surprised if Gillian never checked on him again.

After he grabbed his cup from its place on the desk, he sank down on the couch and drank in silence. _Why had she been so stubborn?_

* * *

_2:55pm- Lightman Group: Lab_

Upon returning to the Lightman Group, Loker and Gillian began to diligently review the interview tapes. The first man they looked at was Henry Lorence. During the interview, Gillian remembered thinking that the man seemed genuine in his lack of knowledge about the case. Reviewing the tapes proved her instinct correct; Henry Lorence was a very distant acquaintance of Cade and knew very little about him. Lorence admitted that he was fairly new to the agency, and only knew Mr. Cade for a couple of months. He was innocent.

Unfortunately, the same could not be said for Mr. Markey.

Watching the screen, Gillian heard her recorded voice ask "Had Mr. Cade and yourself ever met outside of work?"

"Um, yes. On occasion. We would go out to lunch or meet up with the wives for dinner."

"Stop it there," Gillian ordered Loker who was already reaching for the pause button.

Gillian intently looked at the frozen screen. There she could clearly see the facial muscles strained and filled with tension. The dark eyes of Robert Markey were forcefully staring into Foster's own, as if a blink of the eye, or any movement for that matter that would break the stare, would shout out "I'm guilty!" Markey's face was far from relaxed. Just as the words flowing from his mouth were far from the truth.

"You see how forceful his stare is? He's lying through his teeth."

"Yeah," replied Loker, "but look." Loker quickly rewound the tape to the beginning of Markey's sentence.

"Um. Yes," repeated the screen.

"He appears to be saying the truth," voiced Loker. He too was enjoying this case. He loved solving important mysteries, and the company and respect from his boss, Foster. _Who wouldn't? _He knew Lightman sure did. That was evident on his face during those few times when he had let his guard down.

Gillian made a motion for Loker to play the clip back. After studying it a second time, Foster shared her incite.

"He's definitely telling the truth. You can tell because his eye rolls toward the left when he says 'um.' That shows that he's definitely remembering at least one occasion when they met. Looking to the side resembles the mind trying to pull out past memories and experiences, and this is guaranteed when he truthfully says 'yes.' But, right there, when he says 'on occasion—'" Gillian pointed at Loker silently telling him to hit play, which he quickly obeyed.

The two listened closely for the third time to Markey's vocal patterns, coupled by reading his face for lies. "Yes. On occasion."

"What is that?" asked Gillian as she grew in excitement. "Guilt?"

"Well, he definitely appears guilty," responded Loker.

"We'll have to talk to him again. I think he knows something—either about the money or Bagley. Look into his record and see if there is any evidence of a background in drugs. I have a feeling about this guy.." Gillian trailed off as she flipped through her file. She turned to Loker as she was ready to move on.

"Alright, Rachel Ferra."

Loker nodded as he played the interview to the next suspect.

* * *

_3:15pm- Cal: shortly after Reynold's left his office_

_Had she already found out? _That was the first thought that popped into Cal's mind upon the exit of Reynolds. _Had he been too late? Was she hurt? _He knew she would be devastated.

_Alec Foster. _It left a bad ring in his ears. Leave it to Alec Foster to get caught up with _Bagley._ _Ugh._ He hated that man.

Cal suddenly stood from the chair behind his desk. _How did he get here? He didn't remember sitting down._

_What was he doing waiting around? He had to go, right now, and take Gillian off the case. He didn't have a choice._

Cal quickly began to move through the hallway. He passed by several people who jumped out of his way. However, they did so with a different urgency. It wasn't that they were dodging his normal grumpy and impatient self, they moved out of his way because they felt that Cal didn't see them. That if they had kept walking down their path, Cal would have simply run them over.

He opened the door to the lab. And there she was. She was pointing to the screen of a woman that he did not recognize. Loker rewound a couple of seconds and let the clip play again. Cal could easily see that the woman was lying. She had simply said the words 'No. He was very intent on keeping his personal life personal,' but Cal undoubtedly saw that she had been with him on several occasions. And normally, at any other time, Cal would have outwardly stated his observation, correcting anyone who opposed him, but at his particular moment, he could care less.

Cal took a breath before he spoke, once again masking himself from the outside world. "Foster," he got their attention. Gillian turned to him and smiled. "Can I see you for a minute?"

Gillian looked at Cal shortly. She understood that it was important, but couldn't read Lightman well enough to know what it was about. She looked to Loker, who waved his hand to tell her that he would continue the work that they were in the middle of analyzing. And with that Gillian followed Cal out of the Lab and toward his office. This time, grumpy Cal was back, genuinely or not, and the young secretary-intern jumped out of the way on their passing.

When they reached the office, Gillian closed the door behind them and turned to her long time partner.

"So, what's going on?"

_So, she hadn't heard about Foster yet. _

"How's the case?" Cal asked hurriedly. Gillian silently noted that he was deflecting.

"Oh, it's going well. I have to tell you it feels really nice to be working independently on such an important case." She smiled at him. "I'm so glad you trust me." Gillian giggled at him, jokingly. She knew that he trusted her, obviously since she was his partner. But she was just glad to see the result of it every once in awhile.

_Damn, _thought Cal. She was not making this easy. He was hoping that she would say that she hated the case, or at least spoke about the normal amount of stress that any new case brought on. But of course, he should have known by her joy and excitement that he had briefly witnessed in the lab, that this was no burden for her. She loved this case.

"Uh, yeah. About that. We're going to have to drop the case." Cal said it quickly; he wanted this to be as painless as possible.

"What? Why?" Gillian's face had immediately changed from its previous happy state to a solid look of confusion.

"Yeah, the FBI doesn't need our help anymore," he mocked. "You know, how they are insistent that our work is a load of rubbish." Cal bared his teeth at the FBI, trying to ride this off as a matter-of-fact, every-day occurrence.

"I—I don't understand. They seemed thrilled with me a couple of hours ago on the phone." Gillian was persistent. "They need our help with this case. It's way too complicated for them to handle on their own."

Cal shrugged, as if to say: 'I did what I could, love.'

"Well," Gillian continued. "Maybe I should talk to them. I'm sure I could make them _understand_ how much they need us." Gillian was now irritated. She had worked too hard on this case already, and it was only the first day, for them to brush it aside. She _wanted_ this case.

"Nah, it won't work Foster."

"What? Did you even try?" Now her frustration was obviously being taken out on Cal. _Never, never did he give up a case that needed us because the 'FBI' said they didn't need us! Now, since it was her case, he decides to be soft!?_ "I'll call them, right now. We'll talk to them together on speaker phone."

_God, she was not going to give this up_, Cal speculated. He knew that as soon as she left this room she would call the FBI and explain how much they needed her, something that they probably already know, and when they don't know what she's talking about, she will begin to get suspicious. After a couple of apologies, the phone call would end with the mention of her ex-husband as the latest suspect to this multi-million dollar crime.

Cal thought hard. He knew that her discovery of Alec in this case and his relation to Bagley would be devastating to Gill. He hated that Alec could cause her that much pain, more than any other person on this earth.

But Cal just shook his head. This was a lot harder than he anticipated. _What would make Gillian leave this case alone for good?_

"Do you even want me to have this case, Cal?" Gillian was growing in anger.

And because he loved her so much, and felt his own heart break when hers ached, that is why he quickly masked all his hatred for Alec as he realized what he would have to do. He would have to hurt her.

"Look, the fact is that we just don't have enough people to work this case."

Shock, _it isn't the FBI with the problem, it __is__ Cal?_

"You mean that since _you're_ busy, there aren't enough people to work the case?" Gillian answered sarcastically.

_Damn, she wasn't making this easy._

"Yeah, well, seeing as I do all the work around here, it would be pretty vital to have my attention on the case!"

Anger, _how dare he, I own half this company!_

"Oh, so you're the _only one _who does any work!? I'm the one who is constantly pulling our ass out of bankruptcy!"

"Well, fine! Become an accountant! But, I can't allow you to screw up this case!"

Hurt, _I can't believe he doesn't trust me enough to handle one case on my own. He just doesn't trust me…_

"You know, Cal. I—I just really—," Gillian was having trouble gathering her thoughts. He'd really hit it home with her insecurities about his trust.

"Why did you even make me your partner if you never had any faith in me? It's obvious that you've never respected me the way that I respect you. I trust you with my life, and you can't even let me know when you're in trouble—or give me this one case. You never allowed me to be a partner; I was always second in line." She began to leave, angry and frustrated, she didn't know where else to run. But when she got to the door, she turned to Cal.

"Just, tell me. Do you really believe what you said? You really don't trust me?"

Cal took a breath. He knew he would have to make this convincing. He has faced the barrel of a gun on several occasions, but this was the hardest thing he'd ever had to do.

"No."

Gillian nodded. Anger and pain mixed on her usually lovely features. She turned and walked out of the door.

Cal had been wrong. The truth is that he's capable of causing much more pain than Alec ever could.

* * *

**Callian lovers please don't hate me! I promise things will be resolved, seeing as I am a HUGE Callian fan myself :)**


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